That’s just what said manager did. A call to UFC matchmakers led to a call in April with an invite to compete at UFC 161 against Alexis Davis (13-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC). After 11 years of fighting on the regional circuit and just beneath the biggest fight promotion on the planet, Sexton had arrived.

The osteopath, sports therapist and sometime-writer is now booked on the pay-per-view main card of the event, which takes place Saturday at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ontario.

“It’s all happened really quickly,” she said. “I didn’t see this one coming until it happened. It was an opportunity I didn’t think I’d ever have. It’s something I’ve dreamt of ever since I started competing in MMA. My first fight was back in 2002, over 10 years ago, and all the time I’ve been competing. I’d kind of given up hope that it was going to happen in time for me.”

What she meant was, without a women’s bantamweight division, she would continue to compete, but she would never reach her goal. She had nearly retired from the sport when her previous fight was canceled.

“It was given that we were going to jump at [the UFC],” said Sexton, who’s won her past three fights.

Even if it meant fighting up in weight, where she called her results “mixed.” In 2005, she won the Cage Warriors 132-pound title only to get knocked out by a far bigger Gina Carano in her next outing.

“We’re taking it very seriously,” Sexton said. “I’ve spent a lot of time talking to some very smart people about the strength and conditioning side of things and nutrition, and adding a little bit of weight so I’m going to be a good size for the weight class.

“I’m pretty comfortable fighting people that are bigger than me. Most of my training partners are a little bit taller and heavier, so it’s not something that I’m unfamiliar with. And I think I’m coming in reasonably close to the weight class, but I think that also gives me the advantage because I’m not cutting a large amount of weight. I’m not going to be drained from sitting in a sauna the day before the fight.”

Like Davis, who’s won her past two outings, Sexton is known for her grappling-heavy approach to the fight, so some extra gas could come in handy if the two tussle on the mat for multiple rounds.

A yearlong layoff on her resume is not something she expects to be a factor. This past October, a scheduled bout at Cage Warriors was called off a few weeks before the fight when her opponent, now-UFC fighter Sheila Gaff, withdrew due to illness. With the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency conducting tests prior to the event, Sexton hinted that Gaff was using performance-enhancers.